April 2017 Mainsheet

First off to Jess Lawhead for organizing the IU collegiate regatta. We had a great turnout with four universities taking part (IU, Purdue, Northwestern and Hope). Thanks to all those who helped run the races.

Also thanks to Thane Morgan, Paul Dovey, Tony Elliot and all of the other volunteers for their help with the spring work party. The club looks great and is ready for another sailing season.

Last thank you to the ISC Long Range Planning Commiittee (Paul Dovey, Ellen Eaken, Eric Guion, Alan Hyde, Greg VanDuesen and Spencer Wyatt). This committee has spent the last year looking at the 10 year strategic plan for ISC. They presented their initial plan to the Board of Directors in April. Once the plan has been reviewed by the board, we will make sure that every member gets a copy to review.

April also begins the need for volunteers on the race committee and safety boats on Saturdays and Sundays. The individual fleets will be in charge of race committee and safety boats this year, so please look for an email from your fleet captain with additional details. If you aren’t part of the fleet, we still need your help. You can sign up through the ISC website. Please contact Kevin Black (race committee) and/or Andy McDonald (safety committee) with any questions.

New this year we have rolled the signup for all race volunteer duties into our website in our members area. We sent out an email announcing this at the end of March. So far, we have seen very limited signup for the April / May events. Please take the time to log onto the ISC website and review the calendar and sign up for duties.

The process is very easy and fairly intuitive. Here’s a short video that walks you through the process.

If you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me for assistance.

Update your member information

It’s also a great time to check on the member information you have listed in your member profile on the ISC website. Remember this information is how we communicate with you. Please take the time to check you phone and email contacts listed. Maybe you have dropped your landline, or changed email providers. Whatever the case, we’d like to know. Remember to list your spouse’s email too if they would like to get copied on club communications.

If you have any trouble logging onto the ISC website member area, feel free to contact me for assistance.

On the typical email notices the club is sending out, we are seeing an open rate of between 35 and 50%. We’d like to see better than that. When talking with your fellow ISC members, please ask them if they have been receiving club emails. If they have not, ask them to get in-touch with us so we can check on why they are not receiving them. We have lots of great events in our first few months planned, and we’d like to be sure everyone knows about them. So fleet captains, committee chairs, please add the question “Hey - are you receiving ISC club communications - emails, Mainsheet, phone tree calls?” into your next group email. If anyone is not - let me know and we will get them taken care of.

Dates: June 15th , June 22nd , June 29th and July 6thTimes: 6:00 – 8:00 PM

In a previous edition of the Mainsheet, we introduced our intention to run a new training program at ISC for the 2017 season, S.O.S. This program is designed as an introduction to sailing for children ages 4-7. We’ll teach the fundamentals of sailing including boat and water safety, parts of the boat, boat handling and wind awareness. Each child will need a buddy to assist with on water activities and older siblings who are interested in sailing are encouraged to attend.

As a reminder a parent/grandparent will need to attend for the entire session and will be responsible for assisting their child in properly rigging and de-rigging/storing their boat. Instruction will be provided and we will work as a group, but we want parents to learn with their children so they can help their child in the future and reinforce what is taught during the sessions.

Parents/guardians should expect to get out on the water on a safety boat to provide support and encouragement to their child and thus please make sure that you bring life jackets and appropriate clothing for yourself as well as your children. As previously mentioned, the club does own a limited number of small life jackets and I also have a few which can be borrowed, so let me know in advance if you will need one.

In the previous article on this program, dates had not yet been set. We’ve now set the dates outlined above and are looking forward to getting started in just a couple of months. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who’ve already RSVP’d and offered up their kayaks and other support vessels for safety. While we are near capacity for the program, there are still a couple of openings if anyone is interested but has not yet contact me to reserve a spot. The best way to get in touch with me to reserve a spot is by e-mail at Matt.Rush@jltus.com but you can also call or text me at 513-256-2198.

Dates: May 13th, May 20th, May 27th and June 10thTimes: 1:00 - 5:00Fee: $75 – due before the first class. Please makes checks payable to ISC and send to the Office with a note for adult training class to Michelle Sarber, Office Manager.

This year the adult sail training program curriculum has been reviewed and updated. We’re looking forward to getting started with the renewed program on May 13th with our first session. Each session will begin promptly at 1PM and should be expected to end at about 5PM. In addition to teaching sailing technique, the program will also seek to train participants in proper use of the club safety boats. Space for the program is limited and there is a charge. $75 is the cost for the program and funds are payable to the Indianapolis Sailing Club. Michelle Sarber will be taking down information for registration and collecting payments. To register please e-mail Michelle at: office@indianapolissailing.org. Registered participants will receive an e-mail with additional details on what to bring and what to expect for each session. Life Jackets are required for all participants. The club does not provide life jackets.

The new curriculum will be broken down into 4 parts. In our first session on May 13th, we will cover parts of a boat and sailing terminology as well as the fundamentals of the physics of sailing. Students will learn how to properly rig one of the club owned boats and will participate in land based hands on demonstrations to learn about wind and weather awareness, when it is safe and not safe to sail, and proper sail trim. Weather permitting we will then move on to demonstrating proper technique to launch a boat and prepare it to leave the dock. Finally students will get wet as we conduct the all-important capsize drill to teach participants how to safely recover from a capsize. All participants are required to participate in a capsize drill.

Day two will take place on May 20th. There will be some brief land based instruction, but we’ll quickly move on to launching boats and sailing. Instructors will work with participants to develop techniques for safely leaving and returning to the dock and once that is complete we’ll head out to practice what’s been learned in the classroom. Instructors will lead structured exercises that reinforce key skills with a focus on boat control and sailing efficiently on a reach.

Day three is scheduled for May 27th and will again include only a brief amount of land based discussion before rigging and launching boats. On day three instructors will help students further develop skills and progress from controlling the boat on a reach to sailing efficiently both upwind and down wind. The day will culminate with participants executing a simulated man-overboard drill and sailing around a typical triangle race course.

By day four, to be held on June 10th, participants will have developed a good fundamental understanding of sail trim and points of sail. We will use the 4th session as an opportunity to practice those skills by conducting some practices races and free sailing. Since the 4th day of the course coincides with a club regatta, interested students will also have the option of fully crewing a boat as a team and participating in the regatta event if they desire. For those who choose this option, a coach will be on board to assist, but students will be responsible for all hands on sailing of the boat.

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The ISC Land Lubbers gardening group has launched! The objective of the group will mostly be to maintain the flower beds on the ISC grounds. The Land Lubbers will meet informally every Wednesday of the sailing season (April through October) at 6:30 pm, weather permitting. There will also be some daytime work sessions as needed. Please email Lorri Katzfey at lorrikatzfey@yahoo.com if you want on the group email list or have questions.